Code Evangelion
by Dante Vangrave
Summary: Lelouch Lamperouge has been called to Tokyo-3 by his father for the sole purpose of piloting the giant biomecha Evangelion. This won't end well. DISCONTINUED
1. Stage 01

**Code Evangelion**

**

* * *

**

Lelouch Lamperouge glares at the pay phone, highly annoyed by his situation.

"_The area is currently locked down due to a Class I threat. Please head to your designated shelter immediately. Thank you."_

He hangs up the phone, a frown upon his face. "Well, that was really informative," he says dryly.

The raven-haired seventeen year old slides a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and takes out a picture. He shakes his head. "And I still can't believe that that's my sister."

He is referring to the fact that the image is of a beautiful, tall, purple-haired ("Really? Is that her…natural color?") woman, about in her late twenties, with amethyst eyes. She also has a huge set of breasts, at least in his perspective.

Hastily scrawled on the picture is the note, _"Hello, I'm your half-sister Cornelia li Britannia. I know this is sudden, but if you've received Father's 'note', then when you arrive in Tokyo-3, I'll be there to pick you up. Everything will be explained when you get here."_

Sighing, he glances at his watch as he pockets the picture once again.

"Hmph, guess I won't get to meet her then. What a shame," he muses to himself. "I should get to a shelter, though…"

Lelouch then feels someone staring at him.

Looking up, he finds himself matching eyes with a golden-eyed girl around his age. In his peripheral vision, he idly notes that she has lime-green hair.

A flock of birds squawk overhead, drawing his attention to them. When he looks back, the girl is gone.

"What the hell…?" he mutters, shaking his head. "What is it with me and people with strange hair colors?"

Before he can continue that line of thought, an explosion sounds off in the distance.

Whirling around, the teen has just enough time to duck down as two missiles zoom low over his position. Recovering, he follows their path with his eyes.

Those eyes widen to the size of saucers when he sees their target.

Whatever it is, it is huge, dark forest green, and has a strange bird mask with a red orb just below it.

The monster brings up a hand, and from its palm, a spike of pink light extends and impales one of the VTOL that have appeared to intercept the creature.

Luckily for Lelouch, the burning VTOL decides to land not thirty feet in front of him.

"Son of a-"

Then it explodes.

Shielding his face from the blast, he hears the squeal of tires as he feels the heat dissipate.

The passenger door to the car that saved his life opens and he finds himself looking at his sister. "Get in!" she screams.

Scrambling off his skinny ass and grabbing his bag, he barrels into the car, slams the door shut, and they haul ass just as the creature's foot lands right where they have just vacated.

As Cornelia puts the pedal to the metal, Lelouch turns to glance back at the creature. "What the fuck _is_ that!" he asks, trying to reign in his beating heart. Dimly, he regrets all those times he skipped his remedial physical education classes.

Cornelia grits her teeth as she swerves around some debris, but answers him nonetheless. "Its codename is designated as 'Angel'. Don't ask me why, though. The scientists deemed it appropriate to name it that."

Lelouch stares at her. "That is definitely not an angel," he says disbelievingly.

The purple-haired woman just shrugs.

They ride on in silence.

**

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**

"We have permission! Fire the special weapon" one of the JSSDF Generals shout, slamming his fist against the desk. The action causes the ashtray, filled to the brim with half-smoked cigarettes, to nearly fly into the air.

Nobody notices.

Amidst the chaos that is the underground NERV command center, a regal looking man with slicked back white hair and a matching trimmed beard sits, his fingers interlocked in front of his stoic face.

He ignores the scurrying personnel around him and focuses on the screen. The image is of the Angel, unscathed by whatever the military throws at it.

"They fail to realize that NERV is the _only_ organization that has the correct weapon to deal with the threat," a voice says from behind him.

The regal man merely retorts, "Let them. Then they'll see that there's nothing _they_ can do but annoy it."

Schneizel Maldini smiles thinly.

"Of course, Commander."

**

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**

They observe the Angel with the help of Cornelia's binoculars from the outskirts of the city.

Lelouch whistles in amazement. "That thing can take a damn beating," he notes with a tinge of awe in his voice as he watches several ICBMs _bounce_ off of it and explode.

Cornelia grimaces, shifting in her seat. "The best that the JSSDF can do is slow it down, if anything at all."

Just then, the VTOL move away rather quickly.

Both of them frown in confusion before Cornelia's eyes widen in surprise. "What! They're dropping an N2 mine!"

Before Lelouch can ask what exactly an N2 mine is, she shouts, "Get down!"

She tackles Lelouch down into his seat, and unknowingly squashes his face between her breasts.

A loud whine is heard before a massive explosion occurs, tossing their vehicle back several hundred feet.

**

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**

The same General from before stands up, screaming "Yatta!" in a Japanese celebration of victory.

Both Charles zi Britannia and Schneizel lean back slightly at the sudden glare of static from the main screen.

The black-haired, excitable General turns to him, grinning smugly. "I guess there's nothing for _NERV_ to do from here on out, _zi Britannia_," he says mockingly.

"Wait and see," Charles replies cryptically.

As if responding to his words, the screen splutters as an aerial view of the impact zone pops up.

"_Energy spike detected at the target zone!"_ a flustered officer cries over the radio.

That cues the Angel's reappearance.

It is battered, but not terribly so. Its mask has nearly been ripped off, but as its audience watches, another mask pushes its way past the first, eyes flickering red.

The excitable General gapes in disbelief. His two compatriots join him. The brown-haired one mutters, "That was our most powerful weapon…"

The old General slumps into his chair. "Not even a scratch on it," he remarks, dazed.

The black-haired one slams his fist onto the desk again. "Damn monster!" he screams in rage.

Sighing, the old General looks at Charles. "Britannia, are you sure you can handle this threat, since we, of the JSSDF, are unable to?"

The regal man nods. "Of course. That is the reason NERV exists."

"We'll leave it to you, then."

With that, the JSSDF Generals' desk, a platform unto itself, lowers into the floor.

"Commander, are we going to send out Cera?" Schneizel asks calmly.

Charles glances at his subordinate. "We already have a pilot on the way." He makes his way over to an elevator platform. Before he descends, he leaves one last order. "Take care of things for me up here, Maldini."

Schneizel nods. As he watches his leader leave, he remarks idly, "Well, that shall certainly be an interesting meeting. They haven't seen each other in seven years…"

"Sub-Commander!" a technician calls. "The target has started to move again! What are your orders?"

"Alert all divisions," he commands, "Level One Battle Stations!"

**

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**

"I think we're lost."

Hearing this remark so casually thrown her way, Cornelia is hard pressed not to be annoyed at the situation.

After that blast from the N2 mine, the duo had landed in a rather compromising position. She had been mortified beyond belief, but Lelouch promised not to tell a soul.

Then, having arrived in the Geo Front with her near-totaled car, of which she still had thirty-three payments left to go, they had quickly gotten utterly lost.

"Yeah, we passed that sign four times already," Lelouch observes. "And I'm pretty sure I made that mark myself, too."

"Don't be a smart-ass!" she snaps, flipping out her phone irately.

**

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**

"_Paging Chief Science Officer Lloyd Asplund, Lieutenant Colonel Cornelia li Britannia is requesting pick-up at Section 6 Corridor 78. Paging Chief Science Officer…"_

Looking up from tinkering some more with his precious mecha, the lavender-haired Lloyd Asplund snickers to himself.

"Oh, how _fascinating_. Seems like little Nelly has gotten herself lost again. And after I made that super-cool map for her, too!"

He pouts a little before pushing up his large-framed glasses and turns to his personal assistant, Cecile Croomy. "Say, want to come with, Cecile?"

The blue-haired woman spares a glance at him. "Sorry, sir, I can't. I'm a little _busy_, as you can see."

Ignoring the slight vein popping out of the woman's forehead, Lloyd nods empathetically. "Ah, right, right. Anyways, you'd better hurry, chop-chop! No telling when the Commander wants my precious Unit 01 ready for action!"

He rubs his hands together giddily. "Oh my, what fun~!"

That being said, he skips off to meet his long-time friend.

He never notices Cecile banging her head against the metal wall.

**

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**

Lelouch yawns, and then goes back to thumbing through the NERV handbook Cornelia shoved in his hands to keep him busy. "So," he tosses out, "Do you know where we're going now?"

Subduing the urge to deck her smart-aleck brother in the face, she responds through gritted teeth, "We should be reaching our destination soon."

The elevator they had taken dings open at that moment, and Cornelia, standing mere inches from the doors, is nearly startled onto her ass as Lloyd Asplund's grinning face greets them.

"Ah, _Cornelia_," the man oozes smugly, "Lost again, eh?"

She purses her lips. "If you recall, I was only reassigned here three days ago. That's not nearly enough time to memorize a place as large as this."

The scientist waves a dismissive hand at her. "Excuses, excuses." That is when he notices Lelouch, staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "And who's _this_? The Fourth Child?"

Lelouch grins wryly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but my name is Lelouch Lamperouge."

Jumping into the elevator and pressing a button, Lloyd eyes the teen like a piece of meat. "Ho-hum~! My humble name is Lloyd Asplund, young Lelouch!" he announces jubilantly.

Eye twitching, he turns to Cornelia and whispers, "Is he always like this?"

Her mouth twisted into a fond frown, she replies just as quietly, "Unfortunately."

**

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**

Eyeing the odd reddish liquid with distrust, Lelouch stays in the middle-most section of the speedboat they are riding on.

"Where the hell are we going?" he asks tightly.

Cornelia frowns again, but Lloyd waggles a finger at him and grins, says, "Ah, ah, ah! That would be telling."

Lelouch rolls his eyes but says nothing else.

A few minutes later, the unlikely trio dock the ship and make their way into a pitch-black room.

"Okay, seriously," Lelouch says irately, "what the hell is going on? Are you two going to gang rape me or something?"

Through the darkness, he hears Cornelia squeak indignantly and Lloyd splutter.

"O-Of course not!" Cornelia stutters embarrassedly a few moments later.

"Most definitely not!" Lloyd quickly agrees. "We're just going to show you a little something."

A switch is heard being flipped and the lights come on.

The violet-eyed youth is then treated to the sight of a giant robot's head.

"What the…" He narrows his eyes. "So, is this my father's work?"

"_Exactly."_

The trio look up to see Charles zi Britannia standing in one of the observation posts behind thick, bullet-proof glass.

"Father…" Lelouch mutters angrily. "Why have you brought me here?"

Charles looks down coldly at his son. _"You are going to pilot it."_

Clenching his fists, Lelouch retorts just as coldly, "And you think that I'm just going to stand here and do what _you_ want?"

The white-haired man smirks. _"I don't 'think' you are. I _know _you are."_ A transparent picture of Lelouch's little sister Nunally then pops up on the glass. _"Or else your precious Nunally will face the consequences."_

Cornelia interjects at that moment. "Father, you can't be serious! That's blackmail!" she cries, scandalized by the mere notion of hurting the crippled girl pictured on the screen in a wheelchair.

Even Lloyd is frowning, although he says nothing, observing the scene before him with interest.

Lelouch, however, is absolutely furious. "You…you bastard!" he screams, trembling in rage. "Don't you dare hurt a hair on her head!"

Charles seems amused by his spawn. _"And what, exactly, are you going to do, Lelouch Lamperouge? Or should I say…Lelouch vi Britannia?"_

"Don't call me that!" the teen seethes. "I left that name a long time ago."

"_Well then…if you're not going to pilot it, then we'll just bring out Cera."_

Cornelia's eyes widen in shock. "Fath… Commander, you can't mean that! She's still in extensive care!"

Lloyd adds in his own thoughts then, saying, "I highly doubt that she'd be able to sync with Unit 01 anyway…"

Charles waves away both of their opinions. _"It matters not. If the _boy," he sneers, "_won't pilot, then we have to use the one we have."_

On cue, a doctor and nurse team come into the room, wheeling in a heavily bandaged girl.

'That…that girl!' Lelouch thinks. 'She's the one from before!'

As he looks at her, he pities her. She is in some sort of skintight suit, but there are bandages wrapped all around her body, including her left eye, her long, green hair splayed everywhere.

A rumble shakes the whole Geo Front then, causing a section of the ceiling to crumble over Lelouch, Lloyd and Cornelia. Cornelia and Lelouch stand tall, but Lloyd shrieks girlishly.

The act is unfounded as a massive hand rises above them, stopping the debris in its tracks.

"Wha~!" Lloyd manages, quickly composing himself. "Well…that's never happened before." He taps his chin thoughtfully.

Cornelia gapes at the feat while Lelouch rushes over to the girl, Cera, whose gurney has toppled to the floor. He narrows his eyes as he raises his hand from where he grasped her and sees blood upon it.

Scowling, he glares up defiantly at his father and bellows:

"I'll pilot it!"

**

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**A/N:**This particular idea came to me when I was reading NGE: Nobody Dies by Gregg Landsman and listening to All Hail Britannia!, which is one of the most badass country anthems ever.

The present tone was never really my forte, but after reading NGE: Nobody Dies, which I totally recommend reading yourself, I wanted to give it a try. It just so happens that this came to mind. It also stands to note that both NGE: Nobody Dies and this fic are NGE-based, but I would never copy another's work without permission. It's just the present tense that I'm using from that fic, and that's not really copyrighted in the first place. I hope...

I originally intended for Schneizel to stay as Lelouch's brother, but I figured, nah, and changed his last name to that guy Kanon's. Cornelia already muffed things up, so I doubt you'll see any more of the royal siblings. Euphemia is going to make an appearance, but perhaps not in the way you expect...

Still, I have no idea where I'm going to take this, or if I'll even continue it. Suggestions and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, so please review!


	2. Stage 02

**Warning: This review response is TL;DR. Skip if you just want the story.**

**A/N:** I tried not to let it get to me, really, but after coming back from an awesome concert, to get this review notice in my email, I had to address this, even if only a few people ever read this fic.

To the anonymous review(er) labeled _"Miscreations",_ I really don't care whether you read this or not, nor do I care if you believe me or not, but I'd just like to point out I have already stated that this fic was spawned from me reading _NGE: Nobody Dies_, which in itself is a fantastic piece of work. Nowhere did I say I have ever read _In Solitude, Where We Are Least Alone_ by LVDB, nor had I ever even heard of it before your review. Also, both stories are CG and NGE crossovers, yes, but they are not the same.

Seriously, have you read the first chapter of this story? Have you read LVDB's story, at least? Can you point out what I have 'copied' from that fic when I have not mentioned any of the NGE cast so far? LVDB's story is oriented more towards drama and mystery while this one focuses more on humor. And what is so bad with humor? It worked for the original series to deconstruct their humor, yes, but seeing as _I'm the author of this story_ means that I intend for this to be a pure humor and adventure story with a sprinkle of other genres.

Also, it's the _author's choice_ in the end on how to direct where the story goes. That is why I started off by being similar to NGE episode one, then I will diverge it from there. And why did you even bother comparing me to Hideaki Anno? Are you being _truly_ serious? This website is called _Fan_Fiction for a reason. You can twist and bend the idea to how you want it, but for the most part, the majority of authors out there, many of them ten thousand times better than me, pull off damn near perfect emulations; but it's still _not_ _quite_ the same as the original. Plus, this is just a hobby, really. Nobody gets paid for doing this, so why are you taking it so seriously? And, you know, it sort of frustrates me that there are people like you who write criticism without getting your information right. But I don't mind, because I don't know you, and you don't know me.

I have already stated that I would never copy someone else's work. If I just so happen to so by coincidence, then so be it; I'll take my story off without complaints and an issue an apology to the original author. But _do not_ _bullshit me_ with your 'facts'. Like I said, being that this story takes place in the NGE realm, I based the initial chapter off of episode one. But it will diverge from there, little by little, starting off with this chapter. On top of that, this story might as well be considered somewhat AU as is. So your 'facts', or '_evidence'_ as you so claim, in this case, are pretty much useless.

That might have been just some constructive criticism, or not – as the reviewer distinctly said s/he disliked this story – but I take it as a _personal insult_ when somebody accuses me of plagiarism, especially on a website dedicated to literature such as this one.

And if you're going to say that to me, at least have the balls not do it anonymously.

…_anyway_, having gotten that out of my system, enjoy the story. Or not, but at least be _considerate_, if not thoughtful, _if_ you review next time.

**

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**Code Evangelion**

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**

"Why is the cockpit so cramped?" Lelouch grumbles, shifting around uncomfortably in his seat. "And why does this LCL stuff smell like blood?"

Lloyd's face pops up on a transparent screen to his left, obviously a hologram. _"Well~,"_ the man drawls, "_Unit 01 _is_ technically the Test Type Evangelion. But after we gather data, I suppose we could change it around. By the way…it's called the '_Entry Plug'_."_ He adds the last part in a slightly annoyed manner and completely ignores the second question.

Lelouch sighs, letting out a stream of bubbles. "Alright, let's get this over with. Plug me in, or whatever you call it."

Lloyd smiles happily. _"Aye, aye, cap'n!"_ He turns away momentarily then back again. _"Oh, also, what language do you want to use for the cognitive interface system? We're speaking Japanese right now, but I know that since you were originally from the UK, your primary language is English."_

Tapping a finger on his chin, the raven-haired teen shrugs and replies, "Let's stick with Japanese. We _are_ in Japan, anyway."

"_Roger~!"_ he says.

Looking past the man, Lelouch can't help but grin at Lloyd's exasperated assistant, Cecile Croomy. She notices his stare and smiles back weakly before turning back to her console.

Another screen pops up to his right.

Cornelia's face appears, frowning in concern. "_Lelouch…I'm sorry about all this,"_ she says truthfully, keeping her voice low. "_I didn't think Father…the Commander…would force you into this…"_

Lelouch scowls at the mention of their parent, but his face softens into a gentle smile. "It's alright, Cornelia. I didn't think that he'd resort to…to threatening Nunnally, either."

The purple-haired woman grimaces. _"If things were ideal, I wouldn't have dragged either of you two into this. Besides, that wasn't the grand meeting I expected at all when I went to pick you up."_

The teen waves her off. "Don't worry about it. You _are_ my sister, and I _do_ want to get to know you. After everything is said and done, _then_ we'll have time to talk."

Cornelia smiles at that. _"Hopefully."_

Lloyd's screen comes back online again, his face absolutely giddy and Cecile's absolutely exhausted.

"_Alright, all the players are set, so let's plug you in!"_ the lavender-haired scientist exclaims excitedly.

Cornelia palms her face in tandem with Cecile. _"Oh boy…"_

"_Okay, boyo~,"_ Lloyd begins cheerily as Eva Unit 01 shudders, its platform moving towards the lifts. _"Here's a quick rundown of how my Unit 01 works. Firstly, you are synced with it – and I must say, 59% is quite the record for someone who's never stepped inside an Evangelion before. But I digress. Eh, where was I?"_

A scatterbrained look comes upon his face while Cecile whispers something into his ear.

"_Ah yes, you are synchronized with it, which means that whatever damage occurs to the Eva Unit, you feel as well,"_ he explains._ "The higher the percentage, yours being 59%, then the more in tune you will be with the Evangelion. This bond, so to speak, works both ways; it allows you to achieve a better connection with the Evangelion, thus making it more efficient and easier to handle, but at the same time, the higher your synchronization rating, the more pain you'll feel if the Eva is damaged."_

Lelouch raises an eyebrow. "Really? Isn't that a bit…detrimental to the pilot? And considering that _I'm_ currently the pilot, I'd say that's a very serious worry."

"_It's not really a worry. Well…hopefully it _won't_ be a worry. Besides, while you feel the pain, it's not really happening to you. Be warned, however, that if you suffer _too_ much damage, the mental feedback from the link could cause some serious damage to your mind."_

"Oh…how lovely," the youth deadpans, staring at the man.

"_Mm, yes, isn't it?" _Lloyd agrees cheerfully._ "Another thing. Moving the Eva is somewhat thought-based. Think 'walk' and the big buy will walk. Think 'run' and it'll run, and so on and so forth. You understand so far?"_

Lelouch pauses at that information. "So…it's sort of an extension of my own body?"

At that, Lloyd blinks. _"Well, now… That's not entirely inaccurate."_ He assumes a thoughtful pose, pushing up his glasses. _"Hmm… Yes, I do suppose that you could say that."_

As the massive humanoid weapon surges onto the lift, Lelouch's lips widen into a smirk. "I see…"

Cornelia interrupts the two then. _"Are you ready?"_

The teen turns his smirk to her. "Are you kidding?"

She rolls her eyes. _"Of course."_ Lelouch watches her turn to the Commander one last time as she asks, "_Are you sure you want to go through with this?"_

He doesn't see the man, but he hears the cold, firm reply. _"Unless we do this, humanity has no future left."_

Cornelia nods. Turning back to Lelouch, she grins at him and shouts, _"Launch!"_

Immediately, Lelouch is forced down into his already uncomfortable seat by the speed of the Eva lift. Mentally, he curses his newly found step-sister out and promises empty threats of revenge.

A scant thirty seconds later, the lift abruptly stops, and Unit 01 snaps to attention.

Lelouch shakes his head and glances up in time to see the Angel turn the corner about several hundred feet in front of him. "Lucky me," he mutters sarcastically.

"_Alright, like I said, just think or focus on walking and-"_

"I got it, Lloyd," Lelouch says, gritting his teeth.

Focusing his thoughts onto the Eva, he inhales, closes his eyes, exhales, opens his eyes, and then he charges like a lunatic at his large opponent.

Lloyd laughs hysterically. "_Ah, running full throttle out of the gate!"_ Behind him, Cecile looks torn between exasperation and horror.

"_You idiot!"_ Cornelia roars at him in concern, ignoring her scientist friend. _"What the hell are you doing!"_

"The hell if I know!" he yells back, tackling the Angel down. Normally, he would think his actions through, but the weight of his situation finally hits him and he slightly panics.

Reaching up to the Eva's right shoulder, he pops out the Progressive Knife, as it is called, and jams it deep into the red orb that is the Angel's core.

Or tries to.

The blow glances off the side and Lelouch finds himself flying thanks to a kick from the Angel.

Recalling those gymnastic shows he watched that Nunnally had wanted him to describe to her, he twirls midway in the air and successfully lands in a crouch. The impact jars him slightly, and he feels the phantom pain in his legs, but he pushes it away and carries on. Grunting, he moves the Eva into a low stance, the Prog-Knife held in front of it.

He narrows his eyes, and gestures with the Eva's hand. "Come get some," he taunts, his voice carrying through the external speakers.

The Angel shrieks in response to his taunt and a halo appears above it as takes off into the air.

Frowning he dodges to the left as it comes in to hit him, and he knees it in the back. Again, the Angel shrieks in response, then it backhands Unit 01, forcing it away several dozen feet.

Brandishing the Prog-Knife again, Lelouch eyes his target for a moment then darts back towards it.

Grabbing both of the Angel's wrists, with Unit 01's right arm, he tugs a bit and forces it down. Reacting quickly, Lelouch then twists until both of the Angel's arms are broken.

"That's going to be in my nightmares tonight," he mutters loudly.

Once again he plunges the Prog-Knife into the Angel's core.

Then the world explodes.

The last thing he hears is Cornelia's desperate scream of _"Lelouch!"_ while Lloyd is crying aloud for Unit 01.

**

* * *

**

This is a dream, he decides with finality. It has to be.

He is riding on a train of some sort, bright orange light streaming in from all sides.

Some voices are talking, but they are muffled, as if they are underwater. He realizes that the train _is_ underwater.

Suddenly, the train vanishes and he is left standing on what seems to be an abandoned highway.

Unit 01 appears then, only…without armor?

Its appearance is akin to a giant, lanky human being, albeit without skin, and it stares at him blankly.

"…What?" it asks.

He blinks.

He blinks again and his first sight in the real world is an up-close and personal view of Lloyd Asplund's smiling face.

"Missed a chance to go to heaven, haven't we~?"

**

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**

Cornelia leans back against the corridor wall just outside Lelouch's room, sipping at her fresh cup of coffee.

She sighs, glancing at her companion, Cecile. "So, what did you think of Lelouch?" she asks of the younger woman.

Looking at her owlishly, Cecile replies. "Oh, um… I thought he was pretty good, for a complete beginner."

The taller woman twists her mouth. "That's what worries me. But then again, I suppose that he could have learned how to fight from watching movies and the like. And according to his file, he's pretty damn good at chess, which means that he's good at tactics."

"Is that so?" Cecile questions thoughtfully. "I would have thought that he would have used those skills in his battle."

Cornelia looks at her in faint amusement, dryly stating, "Cecile, chess and actual battle are two very different things."

Before Cecile can reply to that, they hear Lelouch's voice screaming, _"What the hell is wrong with you!"_

Looking at each other, they both sigh slightly knowing Lloyd has done something wrong. As usual.

Rushing into the room, they are then treated by the sight of a startled, shirtless Lelouch sitting up in bed with a fist in the air, and an affronted Lloyd hunched over, holding his bleeding nose in pain.

Immediately, Cornelia belts out a loud, unladylike guffaw while Cecile blushes morbidly in embarrassment – both at her boss and the surreal situation.

Lelouch catches Cecile's blush, misunderstands it, and then looks down and notices his nakedness. He squawks embarrassedly, and quickly pulls the sheets up.

"Ah liddle helb ober here, peoble?" Lloyd manages to ask around the hands gripping his still-bleeding nose.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Cornelia, still snickering, gets him a few pieces of gauze from the medical closet. "Heheh, here you go."

"Dank ooh."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Lelouch interrupts, "but may I have my clothes back?"

Cornelia finally recovers from her laughter and reaches for a package that had been located by the door. She tosses it to him, and he fumbles while catching it.

"See you in a few," she nods to him with a teasing smile, while simultaneously pushing Lloyd and Cecile out of the door.

And a few minutes later, the four are walking down the long corridor when they catch sight of a flash of green.

"Ooh, was that Cera?" Lloyd asks, gingerly bumping up his glasses on his injured nose again.

Lelouch frowns. "That injured girl? Is she going to be alright? Those wounds of hers might've been aggravated from yesterday…" he says, trailing off uncertainly.

Cecile is quick to reassure him. "Oh, yes, she'll be fine," the woman soothes. "NERV is equipped with the best medical technology in the world."

Somewhat mollified, he replies, "If you say so…"

**

* * *

**

"No way," Cornelia says flatly to the subordinate who is unfortunate enough to be the messenger.

Lelouch cocks an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with the place?" he asks curiously.

Behind them, Cecile coughs uncomfortably. "Well…it's not exactly in…prime…condition?" The way she speaks is almost like she is asking a question.

Cornelia scoffs and crosses her arms under her breasts. "I wouldn't even say that it's in 'okay condition'. The place is a damn slum."

"No way," Lelouch repeats flatly, turning to the messenger, who is now squirming underneath their combined glares.

His sister nods in full agreement. Then she smiles brightly. "Instead, he'll be staying with me!"

"Wha-?" the messenger eloquently manages.

Her smile now seems menacing. "You don't see anything _wrong_ with that…_do you?_" The man shakes his head, rapidly paling in fright. She turns to her sibling. "And what about you?"

Lelouch smirks in the face of her anger. "Most definitely not."

Cecile just gazes on, absently scratches her cheek, and suddenly feels like the awkward third wheel for some reason, Lloyd having abandoned the group earlier in favor of 'his' Unit 01.

**

* * *

**

Lelouch is somewhat relieved to know that Cornelia's driving is normal, compared to her frantic slalom run the previous day. Of course, he doesn't voice this, fearing her wrath.

He does, however, voice, "Where are we going?" as they enter the commercial district.

"Hmm? Oh, I need to stop by the store and pick up some groceries. I ran out of stock and would've bought some more food, but that stupid Angel showed up," she explains in an annoyed tone.

She eases her newly fixed car – which, Lelouch notes amusedly, is a royal purple vintage 1967 Dodge Challenger with a matching body kit – into the parking lot of some whole-sale store.

"What in the…?" he starts in surprise, performing a double-take at the store's name. "Super-Duper Mart is real?"

Cornelia smirks at him. "It got its name from that Fallout game."

Shaking his head, he follows her as she grabs a cart and heads inside.

Forty-two minutes later, they make their way back towards the car. Their cart, which Lelouch is pushing with all his pathetic might with Cornelia behind him, thoroughly entertained, is filled to the brim with a variety of foods and other items. Lelouch has made the mistake of letting his older sibling know that is very proficient at cooking, thus he is now her designated cook.

"Gah!" he cries, panting heavily, sweat dripping from his brow, as the duo reach the car.

Cornelia snickers at his plight. "I can't believe that you dealt with that Angel so effectively, but you can't handle a few groceries."

He casts a glare at her. "Shut up," he growls, insulted.

The comment goes over her head as she chuckles and loads the items into the trunk herself to let the teen recuperate.

Another several minutes later, Lelouch frowns. "Now where are we going?"

The purple haired woman smirks at him. "Just wait."

He rolls his eyes, but relaxes.

They then reach their next destination, and leave the car.

The two are standing on an overlook that gives a beautiful view of Tokyo-3. The city is bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun, and Lelouch can't help but whistle in amazement, leaning against the railing.

"Wow," he says, awed at the scene. "This is a really nice view."

Beside him, Cornelia glances at her watch. "Five, four, three…"

"Huh? What are you…?"

He is cut off by alarms blaring. Before his eyes, tall skyscrapers rise up out of the ground from underneath their heavily reinforced covers.

As the buildings shift into place, Lelouch can't help but openly gape. "Those are the things from the top of the Geo Front!" he exclaims in amazement.

Cornelia smiles at him. "Technology sure is amazing, isn't it?"

Lelouch also smiles at her. "Yeah, it sure is…" He trails off as thoughts of his younger sister pop into his head. 'If technology is so amazing, then why is Nunnally still blind and in a wheelchair?' he thinks bitterly.

"Lelouch? Is something wrong?" Cornelia asks worriedly, leaning down a little as she is nearly a foot taller than him.

He hadn't noticed he was crying now. "I…I was just thinking about Nunnally…" he admits, turning away from her. "I wish she could see this sight with me right now…"

"Oh, Lelouch," she says softly, pulling him into a hug. He stiffens at first, but relaxes into it, hugging her back.

After a few minutes of Cornelia cooing reassurances softly to him, they break apart. Lelouch wipes his tears away and Cornelia smiles at him again. "Feeling better?" she asks.

"Yeah…" he says, blushing at his moment of weakness. "Thank you for that."

The Lieutenant Colonel then smacks her fist into her palm. "I know! If you'd like, I could get her to come visit us. I'd like to meet my half-sister, as well," she says, grinning.

As if her grin is infectious, it creeps up onto Lelouch's face as well. "I…I'd like that. As much as I want to be with her, though, she's not safe in this city."

This causes the woman to falter slightly. She sighs. "Yeah, I wish the world was a better place sometimes."

Lelouch smiles bitterly at her. "Don't we all, sister?"

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** If you haven't noticed, I tend to get straight to the point. Well…with this particular project, at any rate. Also, is it just me or is FF.N acting weird again?


	3. Stage 03

Code Evangelion

**

* * *

**

Charles zi Britannia leans forward at his desk, resting his head against his hands, which are interlocked together. This gives him a rather menacing pose, but the men in front of him hold far more power than any normal man should wield, and thus are not affected by it.

The six figures in front of him are not really men, but their holographic monolith representations.

On each monolith is an elaborate etching of a triangle, over which is a snake coiled in such a way to form the shape of an apple. Surrounding the apple/snake are seven eyes arranged in two parallel columns, the left column having three and the other, four. Within the apple are the words:

SEELE

_Überm Sternenzelt_

_richtet Gott,_

_wie wir gerichtet._

Charles pays little attention to these details, instead gazing steadily into the darkness in front of him.

The monolith labeled by drab red "05 SOUND ONLY" snarls angrily at the man before him.

"Sending an untrained pilot into battle, Britannia? Are you trying to anger us? The repairs to the city alone will be astronomical in cost!"

"The cost is irrelevant," 06 interjects coldly, causing the other monolith to quiet down.

"Nonetheless," 02 says, "he is correct. Despite the fact that it was defeated, it was unwise to send an untrained pilot to fight the Forth Angel."

Just as frostily, Charles responds, "It was anticipated that the Fourth Child would react well with Unit 01. He merely needed some…incentive to pilot it."

There is a dead pause in the air.

"So you threatened him," 03 states dryly.

"You had just better keep a tight leash on that child of yours, Britannia," 02 follows up.

01 speaks up then. "If you deviate from the scenario, Britannia, know this. You _will_ be obliterated."

Charles nods almost imperceptibly. "Of course. Everything will follow the scenario to the letter."

"It had better."

With a soft whoosh, each of the monoliths disappear, leaving only Charles and 01.

"I am putting my faith into you, my younger brother," 01 says flatly. "Abuse that faith, that _trust_, and you will wish you were dead."

He then disappears with the rest.

Charles says nothing as the darkness around him vanishes to reveal a green screen room.

He turns and walks out, quietly stating, "I already _am_ dead."

**

* * *

**

Lelouch quirks an eyebrow as his eyes soak in the view of what is to be his new home for the time being.

He has to admit, his sister has good taste. The walls are painted a tranquil bluish-lavender color while the ceiling has been left at its default white. He peeks into the living room and spots a large, fluffy, green western-style couch and a matching loveseat. Across from the couch is a large plasma-screen TV, and hooked up to that is a gaming console of some sort with several games and DVDs neatly stacked next to it.

Moving to the kitchen – his new domain, he tells himself sarcastically – he approvingly notes that everything is neat and in order. The table is a deep mahogany, and also has matching chairs.

Setting the groceries aside for now, he opens the cupboards and cabinets to inspect his 'tools'. Most of the time, he merely eyes the items, not wanting to get them dirty, but he again notes approvingly that the knives are perfectly sharp and in prime condition.

Satisfied, he finishes unloading the numerous groceries into their respective positions. Noticing the time, he grimaces and picks out a few select items of interest and gets started on dinner.

For her part, Cornelia, who has just finished properly parking her car – they _had_ bought a lot of groceries – enters her apartment and is immediately enticed by the most delicious scent of good home cooking.

Refusing the urge to start drooling from hunger, she absently swipes at her mouth as she starts towards the kitchen/dining room.

"What are you cooking?" she asks curiously as she sees Lelouch pouring a small amount of something into a small test-tasting bowl. "It smells absolutely fantastic!"

Lelouch sips at the brownish-yellow liquid and licks his lips as he smiles at the taste. "I'm cooking curry tonight. Hope you don't mind."

"Curry? Ooh, I haven't had that in a while."

She slips into a chair and relaxes, waiting with anticipation for the meal to finish.

Within record time, the meal is prepared, set down, and ravenously devoured by the two.

After sitting in content silence, Lelouch mentions, "Cornelia…there was a picture you and another woman in the living room. Is she your sister?"

Perking in surprise, she answers, "Why, yes she is. That's my…_our_ younger sister Euphemia. She's about a year younger than you."

He frowns in confusion. "Why haven't we seen her then?"

"Oh, that's because she's on another base, NERV-Bethany, overseeing the production of an advanced Evangelion model," she admits, sipping at her beverage.

"An advanced Evangelion model?" Lelouch asks. "How many more are there? I though there was just Unit 01 and Unit 00."

She snorts.

"Believe me, there are more than you think. At least seven more are being completed or test run as we speak. The one Euphie just so happens to being overseeing is the testing of Unit 07, codenamed the Lancelot Project. Before you were sent that letter from…_the Commander_…the Third Child was selected as its pilot. He's a Japanese national; Suzaku Kururugi."

The teen starts in surprise. "Suzaku? He's the Third Child?"

Cornelia smiles. "I take it you know him."

"Yeah," Lelouch breaths, slumping back into his chair. "He's my best friend. A couple weeks ago, he just up and left, and I had no idea where he went."

"Hmm… Well, at least you know now. It's also a plus that guys are friends, because he's slated to be shipped here along with Unit 07 in several weeks."

He stares at her. "Really? It'll be nice to see him again." A smirk grows on his face. "He'd better be ready to apologize to Nunnally."

They both share a laugh at that.

"So what's so special about the Lancelot Project anyway?" Lelouch inquires, leaning against the table.

"It's Lloyd's other 'baby'," she briefly rolls her eyes, "and it ended up being called the Lancelot because the man's obsessed with old myths and legends. To be truthful, I actually don't know much about it; you'd have to ask Lloyd. Normally, he would handle it himself, but since he's stationed here full-time with Unit 01 and Unit 00, his friend Rakshata Chawla is in charge. She was also the one responsible for Unit 02 coming about as well."

"Interesting," he says, pondering upon that information.

"I almost forgot, we're also going to pick up Unit 02 in several weeks too."

"Huh. So…until they come, I'm pretty much the main line of defense." It wasn't a question.

"Sadly, yes. But it'll be fine," she reassures him, "and hopefully you'll get along with Unit 02's pilot as well. Her name is Kallen Stadtfelt. I've met her before when I was assigned to NERV-Berlin, though, so I think you two'll get along well. She's half-Japanese and half-German, which makes her a bit of a spitfire."

"I can hardly wait," Lelouch says dryly.

She smirks at him. "Anyway, with all the techno babble out of the way, I also want to mention that you've been enrolled into the local high school."

He shrugs. "Fine by me, I suppose. Is there anything I should know about it?"

"Not really. It's a school founded by some charitable nobles from Britain – the Ashford Family, I believe – so you can expect students from the homeland boarding there."

Lelouch sighs, standing up and gathering the spent dishes. "Oh _joy_. Hopefully they're not as pompous and stuffy as the people from there."

"Don't worry," Cornelia says, eyes full of mirth, a smirk still on her face as she moves to pat him on the shoulder. "It'll be fun!"

**

* * *

**

"'It'll be fun!' she says…" Lelouch mutters darkly under his breath the next day, his right eye twitching madly.

Currently, he is in a violet, frilly dress that goes down to his ankles. His head, which now features long wavy _hair extensions_, is adorned with a matching tiara, and there is hint of rouge and purple eye shadow on his face. On his feet, a pair of black high heels completes the image.

All in all, he looks like a very convincing girl.

This does not deter him from glaring at the woman in front of him who is dressed in a handsome tuxedo.

Millicent Ashford, known to most as Milly, giggles like a lunatic as she gazes at her latest pet project. "Oh Lulu! You look so _pretty!_" she exclaims happily, pinching his cheek.

Amazingly, this has the adverse effect of causing his eye to twitch more rapidly. "Madame President, we've just met. _Please_ don't call me such names."

The blonde completely ignores him. "Now all we need to do is get Rivalz here some better make-up!" She walks away in search of more cosmetics.

Next to Lelouch, Rivalz Cardemonde is merely sitting in contentment. He is unmindful of the dress because his biggest crush has just spent some quality time with him. Well, him and the new student who they are throwing a ball for.

Across from the two, Shirley Fenette is trying to contain her giggles, doing so by practically shoving her fist in her mouth.

In the corner, unmindful of any disruption, Nina Einstein ignores the rest of the world and works on her computer.

Looking around, Lelouch sighs to himself. 'This is what I get for admitting that I was the pilot of that damn robot,' he thinks resignedly as Milly returns and applies lipstick to both him and Rivalz.

Pretty soon, the group makes their way to the ballroom, where the majority of students are.

Smiling cattily, Milly saunters onto the ballroom stage, grabbing both Lelouch and a microphone.

"_Thank you for waiting, people!"_ her bubbly voice erupts from the speakers. _"And now, I'd like to introduce you to the Belle of the Ball: Lelouch Lamperouge!"_

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he observes as several guys and girls suddenly have hearts in their eyes.

**

* * *

**

Cornelia stares dumbly as her brother stalks into their mutual home after his first day at school.

He is still dressed in drag, clothing torn in some places, barefoot as he is holding a pair of black heels, and bearing lipstick marks of varying colors all over his face.

"Not. A. Fucking. Word." he hisses at her as he makes for his room.


End file.
